The Little Things Give You Away
by snekochan
Summary: There are 5 senses, sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch. There is a 6th sense, intuition, that not everyone believes. Then there's the 7th sense, one of time, that few notice as it slips away. They know its not the time, it's who you spend it with. RxC
1. Hitting on Me

A/N: A series of one shorts / vignettes about a fiery nun and her demonic … companion.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade.

Summary: There are five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. There's a sixth sense, intuition, that not everyone believes in. But there' a seventh- a sense of time, as it slips through our fingers and washes away. Most of us never notice it. They know, it's not the time you have, it's who you spend it with. Telling someone how you feel is hard, but sometimes…

The Little Things Give You Away

1: Hitting on Me

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The satisfying explosion marked the triumphant end of yet another battle, and the birth of yet another apology letter.

Rosette sat up, coughing on dust and wiping ashes from her face.

"Dammit Chrono! Look what you did!" She roared, leaping to her feet in a shower of splinters and gravel. "Now-" She blinked, looking around at the people hovering around the perimeter they'd set up. There were officers and citizens, mostly curious (stunned) onlookers, as well as the (former) building owner, all covered in putrid black gunk- was it _her_ fault they hadn't kept a decent distance?- But no violet haired pint-sized demon. "Chrono?" She frowned at the mass of splinters and broken concrete that had been a 3-star restaurant. (Supposedly. The food hadn't been that great, so it really was no great loss to the city- really!)

Shit. She ran over to the huge mound, telling herself that her heart rate wasn't speeding up because- well, damn him! It was just like him to get stuck under a giant pile of junk! "Chrono, you idiot!" She shoved through a pile of smaller concrete chunks, pushing at one of the larger ones. It was as big as she was. "Chrono!"

"Miss Christopher?" She looked up as Officer Gregory Stevenson (they'd met several times before, much to his dismay.), a man of about 30 with short black hair and cool grey eyes hesitated a few feet away- no one wanted to be on duty with Sister Rosette swooped in to save the day- but Chrono had explained that she really was very nice, and while she was somewhat fiery tempered, she really didn't mean any harm most of the time- "Is there a problem- your partner-"

"Is being a wet blanket and hiding under all this junk!" Rosette snarled, kicking at a fallen ceiling beam. "Chrono, get out here!" she hollered, making the officer cringe. He waved to the other officer on duty, and together they started pushing at the larger pieces of concrete.

Dammit. How could he always get himself into trouble like this? The nun continued, cursing, clawing through the fragments of chairs, tables, old walls, the front counter. Hadn't he been in this area? "Chrono!" Others had joined them, pushing and digging and pulling, but all she could see was what the explosion had done to everything inside the building, the stupid dust making her eyes prickle and water, dripping on what might have once been a stove. Or a refrigerator.

"Miss Christopher!" One of the officers waved her over as another was bent over, pulling a slumped, red coated figure from the rubble, fairly close to where the exit used to be.

"Chrono!" Officer Stevenson yelped as she shoved past him, swooping down on the demon. He was breathing, and apart from a cut on his forehead, he looked ok- dirty, but unharmed. "Chrono! Wake up you stupid idiot!" Chrono shifted; a small hand twitching before her squinted up at her, brow wrinkled as if the light was too bright.

"Rosette?" he blinked and his eyes were clear again. WHAP!

The surrounding crowd gaped as the nun stood, glaring at the partner she'd been so desperate to find. "Dammit Chrono! You're nothing but trouble! Couldn't you have gotten me that gun any faster?" (Whap)

"Me?" the demon was on his feet now, wobbling precariously on shaky legs and glowering up at her until she grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the ex-building. "I didn't know you had DROPPED yours until I saw it! Ow!" his croaked outburst was halted as she hit him again. And again, the boy making no effort to duck, merely batting lightly, uselessly at the nun's fists as they made their way back to the car (the only thing left in one piece, for once). The police officers shook their heads, wondering whether it would've been kinder to leave the boy under the rubble. The nuns at the convent would wonder the same thing when they saw the beating the demon was receiving. But Chrono didn't object. He never objected. Not after an argument, not after a battle, not after laundry or after dragging her out of bed in the morning.

He didn't object. Every thump and cry of "idiot!" told him she was still strong, she was alive.

She wouldn't stop. Every yelp and minor retaliation told her that he was there, he was ok, he was by her side.

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A/N: sorry if Rosette and Chrono are out of character. I'm trying to get used to writing with them again because I've been working with my own characters for the past couple months, so switching back to fanfiction is a little hard. I really hope that these stories get closer to Rosette and Chrono's actual personalities as I practice, but until then…I'll keep trying.

Thank you for reading.

Snekochan.


	2. Nightmare

A/N: A series of one shorts / vignettes about a fiery nun and her demonic … companion.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade.

The Little things Give You Away

Summary: There are five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. There's a sixth sense, intuition, which not everyone believes in. But there' a seventh- a sense of time, as it slips through our fingers and washes away. Most of us never notice it. They know, it's not the time you have, it's who you spend it with. Telling someone how you feel is hard, but sometimes…

The Little Things Give You Away

2: Nightmares

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At night, she would call his name, and it was as if someone had made him swallow holy water. It burned, foul and twisted -well, he burned foul and twisted, since the water was pure- in his stomach and he wanted to run. He wanted to scream at the world; he wanted life to be normal again, the old normal, the way it used to be back then. Then, she wouldn't have to call out to him in her sleep.

"Joshua…" Chrono winced, resting his chin on the arms he'd folded over the edge of Rosette's bed as he watched her, tossing, clutching at her pillow. "No…isn't like you...don't!"

How many nights did he come here, and when had it started? She'd stopped coming to him when she had nightmares years ago but… he'd felt it, whenever that first night had been, he'd felt her distress, and he'd come. He'd come, like he had tonight, slipping through the darkness and creeping into her room to make sure she was alright.

"Sh, Rosette." He murmured, stretching out a hand and laying it on her shoulder as she rolled over. "We'll get him back." As quietly as he could, he inched to his feet and sat on the bed, carefully running his hand up and down the tangle of white nightgown covering her back. Rosette muttered something about an ugly old hag and he raised his eyes to the cool blue moon racing like a smile across the sky among the smattering of golden-violet stars. It was different every night, yet it had passed the same route again and again as he sat here, looking up and up.

"Joshua!" He scooted further towards the edge as Rosette flopped onto her back, the pillow falling to the floor with a soft plop, leaving her hands clawing the air. "Joshua, no!"

"Rosette, I'm here." He whispered, as if that would do any good. Like a sealed demon that devoured her life could save her.

"Father Remington, what should we do-" Cursing as the bed creaked, Chrono snatched the pillow off the floor and pushed it into her searching hands, turned ivory in the darkness. "No!" she shoved it away, so he settled for nudging her hands together on her stomach and folding the blankets around her. "…Why…" She quieted, and he looked at the pillow with a sigh before slipping it beneath her head, rubbing his thumbs over her puckered forehead. "…no..." Evidently, the Father Remington in her dream had solved all the problems, because she smiled then, and he let his hands drop to his sides as she stretched and snuggled under the blankets, burrowing her nose into the pillow. He waited, like always, until the sky began to brighten before dragging himself up and tip toeing from the dorm back to the Elder's, leaving Rosette to mutter about bacon and food until he returned to kick her out of bed.

She never called for him during her nightmares.

She didn't have to: he was always there.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Chrono!" He winced as footsteps rang through the noisy cafeteria and a fist hurled beneath his nose, earning a distressingly pitiful squeak of surprise from his mouth.

"A-g-good morning, Ro-Rosette." Gulping, he scrambled backward, looking past the fist to the pair of blue eyes flashing at him.

"Chrono," she smiled sweetly as her voice plummeted to a growl. "What. Are. These?" She waved the fist in front of him until he noticed the thin strands of violet hair clenched in her hand.

Uh oh.

"Hair?" The blonde's eye twitched and she sat back on her heels, rolling the hair between her thumb and first finger as he shrank down in his seat, aware of the sudden quiet.

"Mind telling me how they ended up on my pillow last night?" The entire cafeteria was silent, watching them. Chrono felt his cheeks turn red.

"Um…" How to explain…

"Chrono, you pervert!"

"Rosette! No!" The rest of the nuns rolled their eyes and resumed eating as Chrono fled, starting yet another day of prayer and mayhem.

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A/n: The idea from this was kind of started from Azmaria's first day at the Order, where Chrono was in Rosette's room to wake her up. (It's not that day, just one like it) He seemed completely used to being there (no doubt he wakes her up most mornings) but I couldn't help wondering if there were other times he went to her room, like when she had nightmares.

As usual, let me know if they're in/ out of character. (Well, Chrono I suppose seeing as Rosette was asleep.)


	3. Dreaming of You

A/N: A series of one shots / vignettes about a fiery nun and her demonic … companion.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade.

Summary: There are five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. There's a sixth sense, intuition, that not everyone believes in. But there' a seventh- a sense of time, as it slips through our fingers and washes away. Most of us never notice it. They know, it's not the time you have, it's who you spend it with. Telling someone how you feel is hard, but sometimes…

The Little Things Give You Away

3: Dreaming of you

If it wasn't this dream every night, then it was one like it, but this one was the most common.

"_Joshua_?" She was twelve, running down the path towards the tomb, her stomach roiling. Something was wrong, she could hear screaming, high and anguished as an eagle swooped overhead, turning the sky red with its shadow. A moment later, a huge surge of energy swelled from their clearing.

She hoped she wasn't too late, she had to save them! She crested the hill, freezing as the horns burst from Joshua's head, but there was no blood running down his face, only a wide, sick grin as he held out his glowing hand for the eagle to land on. "Joshua!" Her brother turned, but it was Aion's face as he laughed at her, a single yellow ribbon dangling from his reddened fingers. "No! Joshua, what have you done!" She looked around the clearing, at the decimated tomb, but there was nothing, no one but them. "This _isn't like you_!" She cried, suddenly sixteen and clambering down the bank as he yanked on a handful of purple bangs, hands glowing again, lighting a round, red-eyed face. "_Don't_! Joshua!" Her feet wouldn't move, she couldn't run to him, nor would her hands leap to the seal. "Joshua_, no! Father Remington, what should we do-"_ Why couldn't she reach the seal? She struggled, but she- she couldn't- she was watching again and couldn't- The Father had materialized next to her squeezing her shoulder.

"Nothing." He crowed as Joshua hauled a squirming Chrono to his feet, yanking the demon's head back so his throat was exposed. "He's a demon Rosette."

"What?" She stared at the priest as he smirked, her heart stopping as her partner's screams were drowned out by her brother's laughter. "_No!_" she yelled, ripping her legs free and hurtling down the hill towards her brother and her friend just as her brother's hand flashed and the demon vanished, dust. She screamed, grabbing the younger boy's shoulders. "Joshua! Why? Why! He was our friend!!" She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks, but she didn't care. "_Why!_" She'd just stood by, again! How could she?

"We don't need him." Joshua smiled, embracing her. "We're together." A hand on her shoulder and father Remington was smiling at her, his handsome smile growing into a wolf's grin.

"See? All is well. You're free." His voice rose and fell, waves crashing over her. "You're free."

"No!" Couldn't they see? He was gone! The clearing was blackened, burnt, all the grass gone, and the ground torn. The eagle screeched; leaping into the sky, its laughter making her retch, her head spin. Sobbing, she pushed away.

"Rosette?" Joshua frowned, his face warping into Aion's and Remington's and Sister Kate's and Elder's and a thousand other faces she always and never saw, a twisting, questioning tornado of voice and sound and wind and red, enveloping her, smothering her, crushing her. She couldn't breath, something blocking her throat. Chrono- he couldn't breathe now either. They were the same, human or demon. They were the same! Didn't they understand! Someone was screaming…

"Rosette." She stiffened, someone petting her forehead, strong fingers pushing the lines from it.

"Is she ok?" It was Joshua- but his voice wasn't echoing- it was like she remembered it.

"I think so. She hit her head quite hard when she fell." She opened her eyes and looked at Miss Jean, the orphanage caretaker, and beyond her she could see Joshua- looking like he had when they were kids, father Remington and the other children. All right. All normal. But the first voice…

"Rosette?" Heart pounding, she rolled over and sighed with relief at the worried smile, the large eyes, pressing herself to his warm side…

Rosette stretched, snuggling back under the blankets, feeling the moonlight on her face, the weight on the bed behind her, the soft, shallow breaths and the faint warmth from another body.

The dream was always the same, but so was the presence when she awoke.

"Chro_no_…" Smiling, she burrowed her nose into the pillow.

Whenever she realized she missed him, he was there.

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"Rosette, time to wake up!"

"Erg! G'way Chrono!" Rosette groaned, flailing a hand about and feeling a descent thump as she struck him. Glaring at the intruding sun and the boy who had the nerve to open the curtains- did he think he was going to succeed in dumping her out the window again?- she yanked herself out of bed and stomped to the trunk that held her clothing, waiting until he'd left to haul out her clothes. It was only when she turned to the rumpled blankets that she noticed them.

Three strands of fine, lilac hair trapped under her pillow. Frowning, she picked them up. How did they get there? He hadn't made it to the bed this morning before she hit him!

"Chrono, you pervert!"

And thus, Chrono was in for another rough morning.

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A/n: This is what Rosette was dreaming when Chrono was watching over her. All the lines he heard are here are in italics. As for the final "no": ellipses have many meanings.

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and forgotten what you did? I think most people have, because you're not fully awake.

If Rosette was OOC, it was because she was dreaming, but outside of the dream, as usual, let me know whether they were OOC or not. As always, thank you.

Love to live and live to love

Snekochan


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